Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
An unforgettable cast of characters is unleashed into a realm known for its cruelty--the American high school--in this captivating debut novel.
The wealthy enclaves north of San Francisco are not the paradise they appear to be, and nobody knows this better than the students of a local high school. Despite being raised with all the opportunities money can buy, these vulnerable kids are navigating a treacherous adolescence in which every action, every rumor, every feeling, is potentially postable, shareable, viral.
Lindsey Lee Johnson's kaleidoscopic narrative exposes at every turn the real human beings beneath the high school stereotypes. Abigail Cress is ticking off the boxes toward the Ivy League when she makes the first impulsive decision of her life: entering into an inappropriate relationship with a teacher. Dave Chu, who knows himself at heart to be a typical B student, takes desperate measures to live up to his parents' crushing expectations. Emma Fleed, a gifted dancer, balances rigorous rehearsals with wild weekends. Damon Flintov returns from a stint at rehab looking to prove that he's not an irredeemable screwup. And Calista Broderick, once part of the popular crowd, chooses, for reasons of her own, to become a hippie outcast.
Into this complicated web, an idealistic young English teacher arrives from a poorer, scruffier part of California. Molly Nicoll strives to connect with her students--without understanding the middle school tragedy that played out online and has continued to reverberate in different ways for all of them.
Written with the rare talent capable of turning teenage drama into urgent, adult fiction, The Most Dangerous Place on Earth makes vivid a modern adolescence lived in the gleam of the virtual, but rich with sorrow, passion, and humanity.
Praise for The Most Dangerous Place on Earth
"Alarming, compelling . . . Here's high school life in all its madness." -- The New York Times
"Unputdownable." --Elle
"Impossibly funny and achingly sad . . . [Lindsey Lee] Johnson cracks open adolescent angst with adult sensibility and sensitivity." --San Francisco Chronicle
"[A] piercing debut . . . Johnson proves herself a master of the coming-of-age story." -- The Boston Globe
"Entrancing . . . Johnson's novel possesses a propulsive quality. . . . Hard to put down." -- Chicago Tribune
"Readers may find themselves so swept up in this enthralling novel that they finish it in a single sitting." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
In an edenic community of wealthy Bay Area families, Molly Nicholl, a replacement teacher from a poorer, scrubbier version of California, arrivews in the middle of the school year and soon becomes intrigues by the hidden lives of her privileged students. Unknown to her, a tragedy from their middle school years continues to reverberate for 'her' kids. Among these are Callista, a hippe outcast who hides her intelligence for reasons of her own; Ryan the star pitcher and sex object; Dave, the nice kid whose parents' obsession iwth his SAT scores threatens to upend his life; Emma, a dancer who balances her dreams of bright stagelights with wildness on the weekends, and Nick, the uneasy kingpin of schemes, pranks, and parties. These teens are all navigating in a world in which every action may become public--postable, shareable, indelible--a world Molly finds both alluring and dangerous.
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Library Journal Review
Johnson's debut novel centering on a high school in a wealthy suburb of San Francisco is a compelling story to which almost everyone can relate. Strong characters, issues ripped from today's headlines, age-old teen angst, and an idealistic new teacher bring life to an unforgettable story that is heartbreaking on so many levels. The main teen characters' lives were forever changed by a tragedy in middle school that they all played a part in, and now in high school, they are finally coming to terms with it. Told from a variety of viewpoints, this novel pulls emotion out of the listener, flaying the open wounds with which everyone escapes high school. Cassandra Campbell, as always, does an extraordinary job differentiating among the many teens and adults, without going to extremes. Verdict Destined to become a book club sweetheart. ["Johnson's polished debut novel puts a human face to the details of today's daily headlines of teen life.. This bleak, potent picture will scare the pants off readers": LJ 10/15/16 starred review of the Random hc.]-Donna Bachowski, Orange Cty. Lib. Syst., Orlando, FL © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly Review
In a wealthy California neighborhood, a middle school case of cyberbullying leads to tragedy. Three years later, the now-high-school-aged kids are each dealing with their own stresses and personal issues: average student Dave suffers from his Asian parents' insistence that he get straight As and become a doctor; Abigail falls into an affair with a predatory teacher; troublemaker Damon goes to mandatory drug rehab and struggles to get his life together. Campbell's narration is empathetic, layered, diverse, and nuanced. Every character has a distinctive voice, and her acting is spot-on, even when multiple characters are having a conversation. Her choices are well-thought-out and astute: in the initial chapter on cyberbullying, her voice is neutral and factual, which makes the horror all the more chilling. A Random House hardcover. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
School Library Journal Review
In every class, there is one kid who seems to attract bullies. At Mill Valley Middle School, that kid is eighth grader Tristan Bloch. Day after day, he eats lunch in the guidance counselor's office, wearing the same yellow sweatpants. Fellow classmate Callie absentmindedly accepts an origami bird from Tristan, one of the dozens that he obsessively folds each day. But, to Callie's shock, Tristan responds a few days later by sending her an eloquent love letter. Callie shares the letter with her BFF, Abigail, who in turn shows it to popular jock Ryan. On Facebook, Ryan and some of his buddies start deriding Tristan, with Abigail and other classmates piling on. Just before the end of eighth grade, Tristan kills himself. Readers catch up with these same kids for their junior and senior years of high school. The memory of Tristan seems to have faded, but his death has clearly left its mark. The rest of the book is told from the third-person perspectives of various students and teachers, revealing their suppressed grief and guilt. Each new protagonist offers such a unique point of view that the title reads like connected short stories. Despite the gritty, realistic theme, there is plenty of sly wit, such as when junior David Chu struggles with the strategies for SAT success. ("Pronouns: Mr. Ellison does not like He. He does not like You.") Debut novelist Johnson creates full-bodied characters who are impulsive, irrational, and never beyond redemption. She submerges readers in a complex tale told with beautiful prose and raw emotion, focusing on a danger that adolescents know too well-the hubris of youth. VERDICT For those who appreciate dark, intense reads.-Diane Colson, City College, Gainesville, FL © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Set in wealthy Marin County, California, Johnson's debut novel takes a look at the dark side of the suburbs. Molly, a young, wide-eyed teacher, takes over a high-school English class in the middle of the year. She wants to build rapport with her privileged students but never manages to connect. And how could she? These kids go way back they remember the middle-school incident that led to Tristan Bloch's suicide and left them all broken in one way or another. Calista, the object of Tristan's affection, spends most of her time stoned. Her friend Abigail finds herself in a dangerous relationship with a teacher. Damon, one of Tristan's bullies, ends up in jail, while Nick becomes the town's main drug dealer. It's all a bit much Johnson never gives the reader time to connect with any of the characters (there's hardly a sympathetic one to be found), and piling one soap-opera situation on top of another without any breathing room is a bit wearying. Still, Johnson shows flashes of good storytelling, and this may appeal to readers who like issue-driven fiction.--Vnuk, Rebecca Copyright 2016 Booklist
Kirkus Book Review
Kids face every possible pitfall of modern adolescence as they go from eighth grade to senior year of high school in Mill Valley, California.Johnsons debut novel bristles with authentic detail of life in Marin County, where the author was born and raised. She knows the high schoolstuccoed Creamsicle-orange, generously windowed, and radiantly trimmed; the parents: rich hippies parading along the triangle of avenues, congratulating themselves for buying Priuses along with their Range Rovers and getting their overpriced organic oranges at Whole Foods; the teachers: nothing they enjoy more than "laughing bitterly at their own poverty" or "the insanity of Mill Valley parents"; and the local version of each archetypal teenage clique. Here the stoners, for example, are the Bo-Stin beach kids, from the coastal towns of Bolinas and Stinson Beach, with hair that waved to their waists or shaggy mops or dreads, cutoff shorts or ripped flared jeans and thrift-store tank tops. Johnson knows exactly how they talkThats just Nick. Hes always doing some cutty James Bond shit like that; how they feel playing video games: The head exploded and shot fireworks of blood and bone into the sky and for a minute he felt hella raw; and how they address each other on social media: omfg em r u ok I cant beleive this happened. Perhaps this acutely observed novel would have been more successful if the author hadn't felt compelled to include all of the following scenarios: A boy bullied into jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge by social media taunts. A girl preyed on by a pedophile middle school teacher, exposed on Snapchat. A supersmart drug dealer charging a desperate Asian striver $700 to take his SAT. A beautiful girl everyone hates. A house party that ends in a car wreck sending kids to the hospital and juvie. And last but not least, a popular athlete lured over the internet into acting in pornographic gay films. Hella effort but may not make bank. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.